


ETHEREAL

by beingxwest



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Asgard has been rebuilt, Asgard wasn't destroyed somehow, Avengers in Asgard, Iron Dad, Iron Family, Mentioned Clintasha, Pepperony - Freeform, Post-Avengers Asgard, Post-Endgame, Reality can be whatever I want it to be, don't ask me how it happened, post-endgame fix-it fic, that means no one died in endgame, thor and loki are good brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 12:31:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19426045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beingxwest/pseuds/beingxwest
Summary: Ethereal: extremely delicate, light, not of this world // In a universe where Asgard wasn't destroyed by Ragnarok, the Avengers travel there post-Endgame. In that same universe, all of the Avengers lived through Endgame, and they have fun going on big team-vacations to Asgard. // This is meant to be a fluffy fix-it fic and nothing more.





	ETHEREAL

**Author's Note:**

> There's very little plot here, just tons of post-endgame fluff. I hope you enjoy it!

**_Ethereal:_ extremely delicate, light, not of this world**

Stepping off of the quinjet is like stepping into another planet.

Not that it isn't actually another planet - they're as far away from Earth as most of them have ever been. How Tony rigged up the quinjet to get them to Asgard from Earth is completely beyond Steve; Harley and Tony had spent several nights fitting the quinjet for material to keep it safe as they went through a portal opened by Steven Strange, and Peter had helped JARVIS do a freakish amount of math to determine the best route. A few days ago, when Steve was on stand-by in case there was a fire in the hangar, Peter got Harley to try and explain the whole thing to Steve, and all he could understand was that whatever they were doing to the quinjet would make their trip much, much safer.

And if it worked, they could take more trips to Asgard. They could visit Thor more often. That was the reason they were going, after all - Thor had been a wreck after everything he and his brother lost, and while the Avengers are technically visiting Asgard as interworld ambassadors, they're also there to check on their friend. Thor is like a brother to all of them. So, yes, they do want to see the progress that's been made in Asgard's capitol city and outer areas, but they also want to make sure that Thor is doing alright.

There's a flutter by Steve's ear, and he glances over to find a butterfly has landed on his shoulder. It flaps it's wings a few times and takes off, soaring and twirling up through the breezy air. Steve follows it with his eyes as it aims for the clouds. He can almost feel the same weightlessness as the butterfly must feel, and for the first time since Thor came back and told them of the prophesized destruction that had wreaked such havoc on his homeland, Steve relaxes.

He exhales slowly. Inhales the floral scent of the flowers surrounding them.

Asgard is in full bloom around them, and the Avengers are standing in a field of bright green grass and flowers the size of Steve's head. Trees of all different colors tower over even the tallest of their teammates. The sun is high in the sky, which is the brightest blue Steve has ever seen, but it doesn't beat down on them like it does on Earth. It's... softer, somehow, and the warmth isn't the kind that makes one want to claw themselves out of their skin to escape the heat.

Steve looks over at Bucky. His dark-haired best friend is still just a bit behind him, walking leisurely, but being careful not to tramp on any of the flowers or plants on the edge of the path they're following. He's got a smile on his face. They come to a stop a handful of yards away from the quinjet and take a moment to absorb the beauty of the world around them.

The way that Thor described it a few months ago... It seems entirely impossible that this is that same broken and destroyed place that the Asgardian people barely escaped. That Thor himself, for all his might and strength and bravery, had barely gotten out of alive.

Now, it's bright, and the capitol city shines in the distance. It's still mostly made up of gold and silver. The sound of running, bubbling water can be heard even over the sounds of the city - there's traffic, the sound of talking, music drifting from what are probably restaurants or small shops. On the opposite end of the city is the palace. They'll have to go through the capitol, then, to get there.

Suddenly, Steve feels the need to ask Pepper if her and Thor had accounted for that when they were planning their trip to visit Thor and see his kingdom - _of course, Pepper has_ , Steve reminds himself - and how they're supposed to get across the city. _Are we meeting Thor there or is he meeting us here?_

"This is..." Bucky's voice cuts through Steve's train of thought. His eyes are sweeping over the landscape around them, the flowers and trees and ecosystem that is so alike an earthly one, but is so different that Steve himself is awed once again. Bucky's attention catches on a patch of singing pink flowers, their melody blending in with the wind and the slowed engine of the quinjet behind them, and he sounds awed as he finishes his thought. "This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen."

Steve nods. His eyes trail away from Bucky's profile and he takes in another eye-full of the world around them. It is strange and wonderful, wild and magical. Bucky's right.

It's amazing.

Behind Steve, Morgan is running down the exit ramp, and Pepper is laughing as she tries to keep up with her. "Slow down, Morgan!" The words are meant to be chiding, but Pepper's head is thrown back as she says them, a wide grin splitting her face in half.

"Uncle Steve! Uncle Steve!" Morgan calls. Pepper scoffs, probably at being ignored as her daughter dragged her from the quinjet. Morgan just turns her head and bats her eyes at her, the picture of innocence.

It makes Steve laugh, just a little. Seeing the slightest hint of a glare on Pepper's face, he forces his own expression back to neutral. At his side, Bucky chuckles. Pepper slides her glare to Bucky, who in turn covers his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. The metal fingers reflect the sunlight into a puddle just off to the side. Whenever Bucky moves his hand, the rainbow in the puddle ripples.

Morgan runs up to Steve. She's tugging on his pant leg before he even looks down at her, talking a million miles a minute. "Uncle Steve, where's Uncle Thor? Is this Asgard? I thought Uncle Thor said no one could go to Asgard! And we're here! How cool is that?"

Pepper steps up behind Morgan, resting a hand on her shoulder and cutting off her last question with a practiced grace. "Morgan, honey, you have to give Uncle Steve time to answer your questions."

Nodding dutifully, Morgan turns back to Steve and raises her eyebrows. Bucky dissolves into another fit of laughter. Steve knows why, even without Bucky explaining it - Morgan looks so much like Tony, especially that particular expression, and everyone gets a kick out of it.

"This _is_ Asgard," Steve tells her. He weighs his words carefully, not wanting to tell her too much because of her young age, but not wanting her to feel like she's being patronized. That's another thing she has in common with her father - she does not react well to sugar-coating or simplifying or anything that Tony has ever complained about Nick Fury doing to him. "And Thor did tell you that no one could be here for a while, and that was true. But the Asgardian people are pretty smart, and they figured something out."

About fifteen feet away, Peter, Harley, and Tony stumble out of the quinjet, laughing so hard they're struggling to stay upright. Morgan looks over and shakes her head, putting her hands on her hips. Her furrowed brows and tone of voice tell Steve this is a side of Morgan she inherited from her mother, who gets this look whenever Tony botches (and barely manages to recover) a press conference.

"I don't think my brothers are old enough to fly a quinjet," Morgan says rather loudly. So that's what the hands-on-hips is for. A safety concern.

Bucky leans forward and chuckles in Steve's ear. "She's even more like Pepper than Tony."

"God help us all."

Bucky blinks at Steve for a few seconds. When the joke really sinks in, he doubles over, practically cackling. Pepper raises her eyebrows at Steve, the mirror image of her daughter. Steve follows Bucky's lead and laughs so hard that he has to wipe at his own eyes.

But Morgan isn't done with her questions when Steve finally recovers. "How did they fix it?"

To some degree, Steve admires her narrow approach to things - she's young, and she hasn't learned how complicated and difficult the world can be most of the time. In her mind, Asgard just had to be "fixed". Like it was as simple as pressing the right series of buttons. Like they could just reboot the entire damn planet and it would be okay. Steve knows perfectly well that it wasn't that simple - the magic it took, the spells and wards and whatever else it must've taken to prevent the planet from destroying itself... Steve still can't imagine it. And even beyond saving the planet itself was putting out what Thor had described as the most awful raging, burning fire; after that, they'd had to contend with rebuilding everything.

Steve glances over at Bucky, who's pulled it together enough to look between Steve and Pepper. The three of them don't exactly have a good grasp on magic and it's properties. What Steve does remember from Thor's mysterious and exhausted explanation - they'd tried not to push him for answers more than they'd had to, because Thor had looked so unlike himself, so distraught that they didn't want to make it any worse - is that the Asgardians had waited for the fire to burn itself out enough that it could be dealt with via the magical equivalent of stomping it out. Various spells were used to keep it from starting back up and speed the regrowth of vegetation. The air had to be purified and the planet's atmosphere had to be reinforced; the smoke had all but destroyed the planet's air quality and several parts of the atmosphere had been in tatters.

None of that had stopped the Asgardian people, though - from Thor's description, everyone had given everything to make their homeland survivable again, and when that was done, they'd started rebuilding. Some people had lost their lives doing that. While Thor's team mates know it wasn't his fault, they're all pretty sure he's still carrying that weight around with him, sure those lost lives are somehow on his hands.

Bucky shakes his head at Steve. The movement is almost imperceptible, but it's still as if Bucky can see into Steve's soul, like he knows what's playing behind Steve's eyes.

The image of a despairing Thor leaned over the strongest Asgardian whiskey they keep in the Tower. Images of the Asgardians working around the clock to rebuild the kingdom they love - these had been sent to the Avengers by Thor himself, and while they were more uplifting than anything else, Steve knows what it looks like to be grieving and set it aside because there's work to be done. Images of Tony, Peter, and Harley working non-stop in the lab, because the Asgardians had need of tech and equipment that just couldn't be built there; the other Avengers had kept busy boxing up all kinds of supplies (both what was built in the lab and medical supplies) and sending loads of them through portals at least once a day. Images of Bruce heading through those portals with Sam to team-treat physical and psychological issues left over from the near-destruction of Asgard.

Again, Bucky gives a shake of his head. He doesn't have to say it aloud for Steve to know what he means - _You can't tell Morgan any of that. It would break her heart._

Bucky isn't wrong, Steve knows. So Steve kneels down next to Morgan and gives her his best smile. "They put all of their hearts into it, and they got the job done, kiddo. That's the important part."

In response, Morgan nods energetically, the motion very bobble-head like. "That's really cool, Uncle Steve!"

"What's really cool, Uncle Steve?" Harley asks, jogging up behind Morgan and Pepper. Peter is right behind him, pulling Morgan into his arms and swinging her around without pausing to take a breath. Steve opens his mouth to answer the question, but he doesn't need to; Harley's attention has already been pulled to where Peter is making Morgan laugh, his question long-forgotten as he raises an arm and declares to Peter in what must be an attempt at some kind of medieval accent, "War! We will go to war for the fair maiden!"

All three of Tony and Pepper's kids are laughing as Harley and Peter pretend to go to war over Morgan. Peter gently sets Morgan down on the grass before turning his attention back to Harley. Both boys have one arm raised like they're wielding swords, their other arms closer to their chests, bent at twin angles, like they're holding shields. They crouch a little bit and charge at one another without any warning, somehow still managing to move at the same time. As their imaginary swords strike against each other, they make the clanging and clashing noises themselves.

Morgan is shaking with laughter. She eggs her brothers on, and rather than giving the three of them grief about it, Pepper turns and pulls out her phone, quietly snapping pictures of her children playing in the meadow between where they're standing and where they left the quinjet. Finally done with the quinjet, Tony folds up the exit ramp and closes the door, locking it behind him. He gives his rough-housing sons a wide berth and strolls to where Pepper is standing, slipping an arm around her waist and not bothering to hide the smile on his face.

"You know," a voice says from behind Steve and Bucky, "I never thought we would have this."

It's Natasha. Steve doesn't need to turn to know that Clint is standing next to her, and she's leaning into him. Things have changed considerably since they saved the world again - Clint and Natasha lost one another, and after they managed to save Tony and bring Natasha back, they realized how much they need one another. This roughly translates to them making out at all hours of the night and always being pressed against one another. Steve can feel the way that Bucky's giving Clint a Look without turning either.

Natasha snorts. When she speaks, all of the thick sentimentality is gone from her voice, having been replaced by a tone that says she's holding back a chuckle. "You don't have to be like this, you know. I've known Clint almost as long as I've known you."

"It's different." Clint has no such qualms about laughing at Bucky's antics as his girlfriend might, and he does. The smile in his voice is practically audible. He sounds perfectly at ease - he and Bucky are friends, and neither of them really have a bone to pick with one another. They've bonded considerably over their shared experiences. And they also both like giving Natasha a hard time. "I have to give him that much."

In the months that they've had to recover, Bucky's recovered a good chunk of the memories that he and Natasha share. When Natasha and Clint officially became a couple, Bucky pulled a gun on Clint and said something like, "If you hurt her, you die, and then I tear you into bits when she's done with you." The role of the big brother is one that Bucky obviously prefers, and Natasha might roll her eyes at him at least once day because of it, but whenever Bucky isn't around, sometimes she slips and says something like, "my brother" instead of calling him by his name.

Steve is glad they have each other. He'd be lying if Natasha didn't sometimes feel like a younger sister to him, too, and while he was the one who encouraged Clint to confess his feelings to her, he still put together a hell of a monologue - "You know that I punched Hitler in the face, right? Right? Do you know what I will do to you if you break her heart, Clint?" - just to be sure.

Still standing near the nose of the quinjet, leaning up against it as they chat, is Rhodey, Bruce, Sam, Steven, and Wanda. Rhodey's telling a story - probably about his and Tony's college escapades - that's got all of them in stitches. Steven is giving Rhodey a puzzled look, shaking his head, tossing a glowing orange orb back and forth between his hands. It changes shape with every impact, and while Wanda is listening to Rhodey's story intently, her eyes are on Steven's hands. He's been helping her with her own magic, difficult as it's been, giving how different their powers are.

They carry on like that, all of them, for who knows how long. Probably half an hour or so, but Steve doesn't trust his ability to estimate the time on Asgard, concerned that it might pass differently there than on Earth. All of the Avengers are in their own separate circles having their own separate conversations, but they're all together with the exception of Thor and Loki, who they're waiting on. Steve likes to think this is a great metaphor for how their world - their family - works. They're all together, everyone's eyes drifting back to the three kids playing in the meadow from time to time, even if they're all busy talking about different things.

Maybe it's a little sappy, but like Natasha, Steve has never bothered with the illusion that he would have this one day. It's like it's own form of magic, having a family like this, and it's more powerful than anything Wanda or Steven or even Thor could conjure up.

There's a loud _pop_ on the end of the field opposite of the quinjet. Steve turns to see Thor and Loki stepping through a round portal. It's oval-shaped, purple and white magic snapping around the edges. It's only a rip in this part of the universe, Steve reminds himself, which is why it appears to be rippling like waves do - because it's really not stable.

"Hello, Midgardians!" Thor booms. The other Avengers turn and wave at Thor, who waves back, his hammer going back and forth in a way that doesn't look safe at all. "I am the king of Asgard!"

Loki sighs dramatically, and, smiling, comically buries his face in his hands. "And I am his long-suffering - " Thor cuts him off by throwing an arm around his shoulders, getting him in what looks like a headlock but is really Thor's favorite way of messing around. It doesn't surprise Loki in the slightest, but he still acts like he is for Thor's enjoyment.

Sometimes, Steve wonders which one of them is really the older one.

Thor and Loki walk towards them after Loki manages to escape his brother's rough-housing. They only pause so that Loki can snap his fingers and get rid of the portal. Once it completely disappears, Loki moves his hand through the area where it was before - probably to make sure it's all back to normal - and they continue heading towards where everyone is waiting once Loki nods that it's alright.

Morgan is flying up the slight incline before Thor and Loki make it ten feet. "Uncle Thor! Uncle Thor!"

A grin splits Thor's face in half and he throws his head back in boisterous laughter, racing down to meet her. He swings his niece up into the air, tossing her up and catching her effortlessly. Morgan squeals as he tosses her up again. Behind them, Loki is moving quickly too, but he still appears unsure. He's been worried that the Avengers won't want him around, even after all they've all been through together.

Bucky takes off towards Loki, slowly heading up the hill towards Thor and Morgan, and greets Loki himself. If anyone understands what Loki's gone through, it's Bucky, and something inside Steve warms at the sight - his best friend has such a good heart, and Steve is glad that he's using it, living with it, using it to help other people that need it.

Harley and Peter are standing at the base of the hill, waiting on Thor to bring their sister down. They are really siblings now, the three of them - after Tony and Pepper adopted Harley and he moved into the Tower, Peter and his aunt moved in with the other Avengers, too. From what Steve understands, she was happy to have found friends in Pepper and Natasha, and named Tony and Pepper Peter's godparents. As soon as that happened, Pepper told Morgan that she had two older brothers, and one of them was Spiderman. Aunt May became Harley and Morgan's Aunt May, too. The logistics of how this works are a little confusing, sure, but it's their crazy family, so it's alright. The three kids are happy, and they have a dozen uncles and aunts and godparents. Even Clint's kids, when they're at the Tower, are looked after the same way.

Aunt May has also taken a shine to Steve and Bucky - old as they might be, they're still technically younger than she is, and somehow, she's their Aunt May, too. She decided that she would stay at the Tower so that she could keep things in order. She's been busy since they reversed the snap, trying to reunite families and help people resettle; it would've been too hard for her to leave with the workload she's had recently. But before they'd boarded the quinjet, Aunt May had reminded everyone that they've got her number, that they can call her for anything, and she'd given everyone a kiss on the cheek before leaving to get back to work.

A few feet behind Thor, still moving down the slight incline, Bucky pulls Loki into a hug. It's brief, friendly, but nonetheless, it means a lot to Loki. Bucky leaves an arm slung over his shoulder as they follow Thor down to where the rest of them are waiting. Now holding Morgan at his hip, Thor gives both Peter and Harley ginormous hugs. He steps back to allow Loki to hug both Peter and Harley, too, and Loki looks rather surprised to find Peter saying, "It's nice to see you, Mr. Loki," and enveloping him in a hug.

Bucky moseys back to where Steve is still standing and slings an arm over his shoulders. Steve leans into him just a little and smiles back at his best friend. "That's nice of you to do, you know." When Bucky blinks at him, eyes wide like he doesn't know what Steve is talking about, Steve elaborates with minimal exasperation, bumping his shoulder against Bucky's. "Going out of your way to make others feel included."

"Well, maybe I'm trying to be more like Captain America," Bucky jokes. His eyes are alight with humor. With the look on his face, he almost looks young again, like years and years haven't gone by since they were teenagers in Brooklyn just trying to get by. "I hear he's a real good role model."

Steve shakes his head, throws his own arm over Bucky's shoulders with a grin, and hauls his best friend over to see how Thor is doing.

-/-

Once they've all passed Thor and Loki around for hugs - everyone does manage to find a hug for Loki, even if some of them look a bit careful - Thor announces, "So, we'll be giving you all a tour of our fine city, and then there will be a feast fit for a king!"

Here, Loki covers his eyes with one of his hands, looking particularly off-put by the pun Thor may or may not have intended to make. Steve and Bucky actually laugh, as well as several of their other team mates, who are hiding twin smiles behind raised hands. Morgan has squirmed her way onto Thor's shoulders, one of her tiny legs on either side of his head. Her eyes are fixed on the battle-hammer he's twirling around in one of his hands. Idly, Steve wonders if Morgan will try to grab it out of Thor's hand; it wouldn't be the first time. She's completely oblivious to the joke that her uncle has just made, somehow, and Steve remembers something about how Morgan hasn't really grasped the concept that her Uncle Thor is really the king of Asgard.

"After the feast, my brother and I will give you a tour of the palace and show you to your rooms." Thor has lowered his voice considerably; he's no longer shouting at them as he was before he was within conversational distance of the team. It's still obvious here, when he pauses, that his voice is suddenly filled with emotion. "There will be a ball tonight to thank you for all that you have done to help our people, and to commemorate the achievements of" - the emotion remains in his voice, but there's a shit-eating grin on his face - "Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

Tony throws his head back and scoffs. "We're on Asgard now, Point Break," he calls. Pepper elbows him in the ribs, making Peter and Harley snicker from where they stand on either side of the Starks, and Tony jerks away from her with his face scrunched up. "Hey - ow!"

"Don't heckle the king of Asgard," Pepper hisses. The grin on her face is a perfect replica to the one on Thor's.

Tony grabs at his chest and groans. "You wound me, Pep."

The circle they've formed, the Asgardian king and his brother at one side, and the quinjet at the other, dissolves into laughter.


End file.
